Legendary actor/producer, John Travolta, has been entertaining audiences since his breakout on-screen role as Vinnie Barbarino in the popular 1970s TV series, Welcome Back Kotter. Vinnie Barbarino was a cocky and outgoing high school student who helped turn John Travolta into an off-screen teen heart-throb. With his success in acting, Travolta followed in the footsteps of several other young, good-looking actors decided to try his hand in the music industry. In 1976, Travolta released a single titled, “Let Her In” which reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 70s marked an incredibly successful decade for the then 20-something-year-old star. By the late 1970s, Travolta had also began a film career and had already starred in three popular films including Saturday Night Fever, and Grease, which were two of the most successful films of the decade. In fact, When Welcome Back Kotter ended in 1979, Travolta departed entirely from television and decided to focus his acting career solely on film
After almost 20 years of relative success, Travolta’s career experienced somewhat of a slow down during the early 90s. However, In 1994, Travolta landed a role in what would eventually become one of the most popular cult classics, Pulp Fiction. While Travolta’s performance as charming hit man, Vincent Vega, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, he came very close to never even getting the role at all. Originally, the movie’s director, Quentin Tarantino, sought bad boy Michael Madsen for the role; however, Madsen chose to take a role in another film instead. When Madsen was no longer an option, Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax Film, the distribution company behind Pulp Fiction, pushed for Academy Award winning actor, Daniel Day-Lewis to take the part. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Travolta reminisced on having to compete with Day-Lewis for the role, stating: “Yeah. I remember it was a big deal with Miramax, too, because Daniel Day was hotter than heck and I was colder than Alaska, so the idea that Quentin went for me over Daniel Day-Lewis was a very big deal. But I understand now, in retrospect, why he did. By using Uma, me, and Bruce, he balanced it with pop culture, and that wouldn’t have happened with Daniel Day or anyone else vying for that part. There was a history that the three of us had that balanced the darkness of that movie with a certain levity and humor—like a yin-yang effect. That was very calculated.” Travolta’s role in the film ended up revitalizing his career and helped him land several starring roles in the following years. Now at 60-years-old, Travolta shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. During an interview he said, “I feel like as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to keep doing it…I don’t just do movies because I need to. I genuinely love acting…This is how you want t spend the last days of your career-to play with the best in the business and do your thing.”
Fortunately for Travolta, he has done his thing for his entire career, and since his film debut in 1975, he has racked up more than 50 on-screen film credits and has portrayed some of film’s most memorable characters. Travolta’s talent for successfully portraying almost any type of character has made him one of the industry’s most convincing actors. His ability to deliver strong lines and capture audiences has helped to make him much more than just a former teen idol. While there are certainly a lot to choose from, here are some of the best lines from John Travolta movies.
5. “…did you ever hear the philosophy that once a man admits that he is wrong, that he is immediately forgiven for all wrongdoings? Have you ever heard that?”
If only forgiveness was really as simple as this quote from, the 1994 cult classic, Pulp Fiction.
4. “You gotta learn to laugh, it’s the way to true love.”
John Travolta’s heartwarming performance as the archangel Michael in the 1996 film, Michael, spawned this incredibly meaningful line. While many people think that they key to unlocking their feelings is hidden behind countless obstacles, Michael suggests that laughter is the best way to find guidance down the path towards true love.
3. “Would you just watch the hair. You know I work on my hair a long time…”
Travolta’s performance as disco-loving Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever is certainly one of his most memorable. Now everybody knows not to mess with the legendary Tony Manero’s hair, but apparently in 1977 the message wasn’t as wide-spread.
2. “I’m going to tell you something really outrageous. I’m going to tell you the truth.”
In the film Primary Colors, Travolta starred as Jack Stanton, a southern governor who was attempting to win the democratic nomination the United States presidency. In a film about the twisted world of politics, what could be more outrageous than the truth?
1. “Now I’m not some grungy wannabe filmmaker that’s searching for existentialism through a haze of bong smoke or something. No, it’s easy to pick apart bad acting, short-sighted directing, and a purely moronic stringing together of words that many of the studios term as “prose”. No, I’m talking about the lack of realism. Realism; not a pervasive element in today’s modern American cinematic vision. Take Dog Day Afternoon, for example. Arguably Pacino’s best work, short of Scarface and Godfather Part 1, of course. Masterpiece of directing, easily Lumet’s best. The cinematography, the acting, the screenplay, all top-notch. But… they didn’t push the envelope.”
From the opening monologue of the 2001 film, Swordfish, Travolta’s character, Gabriel Shear, discusses the film Dog Day Afternoon before he is whisked away by the SWAT team.
(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
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